The present invention relates to chairs and, in particular, to multi-function, transportable, recreation folding chairs, including those having storage containers built therein.
Portable chairs for beach, picnicking, backpacking, parades and other outdoor uses have long been known. One of the more common uses for such a chair is at the beach. For instance, beach chairs have been constructed of a plurality of lightweight metallic tubular members with a fabric or plastic webbing being stretched across the members in order to form a seat section and a back section. Generally, these chairs are foldable from a collapsed position, typically with the intent of occupying a minimum amount of space and facilitating portability, to an extended position which causes the leg assembly to be extended from the back section assuming a substantially right angled position to the seat section. In the past, these types of chairs have been merely carried to the setting of use by grasping some handy part of the chair. Other paraphernalia would also be carried separately, such as a table, cooler, and the like.
As an improvement to this conventional beach type of chair, there have been some attempts at designing collapsible type of chairs which could be transported to the beach by being carried on one""s back. Also, it has been known in the past to construct a beach chair which includes pouches which could be utilized to store articles, such as suntan oil, comb, brush and so forth. However, there is room for improvement in designing such chairs so that the chairs are of high quality and more durable construction, and are more quickly movable to the collapsed or retracted position and at the same time are quickly movable into the extended or usage position, and advantageously include necessary additional items usable by normal beach goers, and storage areas for the same.
The multi-function, transportable recreation chair of the present invention is an improvement over the art, providing in one form of the invention a compact chaise-lounge chair which can be backpacked or wheeled. In this form of the invention, it furthermore yields storage and stowage for over seven miscellaneous items when going out for many different types of recreational activities. For instance, when going to the beach or an outdoor event, a person may typically carry a chair, an umbrella, a cooler, drinks and/or food, a towel, reading materials, a headset, suntan lotion, etc. The chair of the present invention accomplishes the difficulty of carrying the above items in one easy-to-carry device.
The inventive chair in its form as a lounge chair in one preferred form provides a person with an adjustable recliner chair that has a footrest, two armrests that also act as thermal containers for hot or cold products or storage, a storage seat base that can accommodate a pad, a towel, books, magazines, laptop computers, etc. A tray table that provides a place to read, eat or use a laptop is a further modification. The chair of the present invention also has a storage compartment at the footrest and headrest that may accommodate an umbrella, sandals, shoes, etc.
One part of the foregoing preferred embodiment of the foot portion of the chair is also detachable to yield a table, if the chair is not to be used in its lounge chair mode.
The chair of this invention is most preferred in a backpack arrangement, with all of the parts folding into an area not much bigger in size than a large backpack. In this form, it is of a durable rigid construction, yet very lightweight and easy to transport, including within its various compartments much of the paraphernalia that one may wish to use, such as at the beach or any other outdoor activity. This preferred form of the invention advantageously uses interlocking hollow boxlike components, each of which comprises its own storage container.